The Female Lead of the Abusive Novel Can Hear My Heart's Voice - Chapter 13

The elegantly decorated villa brimmed with style and festivity, adorned with colorful ribbons and balloons. The grand dining table in the center of the ground floor had been replaced with round tables filled with stacks of champagne glasses. On most days, the expansive villa felt a bit empty but today, it overflowed with clinking glasses and murmuring voices. Every guest was someone of note: renowned business figures, A list celebrities. All had come to celebrate this engagement out of respect for the powerful Xia family.

Summer Mucai’s phone buzzed. The caller was Tang Mingming from the orphanage.

Everyone at the orphanage had heard about Xia Chi’s engagement. While they didn’t know the inside story, they called to send their blessings.

A cheerful girl’s voice rang through the phone, “Sister Xia, we couldn’t reach Sister Chi. Could you wish her a happy engagement for us?”

Mucai was alone in her room, sitting at her vanity. Her black spaghetti strap gown revealed her smooth back, her silhouette elegant as she drew in her brows with a pencil. She gave a quiet “mm,” her face reflected in the mirror cool and composed not at all joyful.

“Alright. I’ll tell her in a bit.”

Suddenly, the sound of a child crying came from the phone.

“Why isn’t Sister Chi getting engaged to Sister Xia? Weren’t they girlfriends?”

That was Tang Tu, sobbing her heart out.

Mucai’s expression twitched slightly. She thought to herself:

“This little bunny… Your Sister Chi is the heroine, how could she ever end up with a villainess like me?”

She shrugged off the sentiment.

“Only kids would believe she and I were really together.”

Tang Mingming pulled the phone away slightly and tried to comfort Tang Tu. “Chi is a girl, and so is Xia. Girls can’t be together like that.”

But Tang Tu didn’t understand. Hadn’t they admitted they were a couple? Didn’t couples belong together?

The child’s cries grew louder, to the point of sounding breathless. “I don’t want Sister Chi to marry a man!”

“Stop it, Tang Tu! This is Chi’s big day. Don’t cry and ruin it!”

“I don’t care… waaahhhh!”

Mucai also wanted to cry and scream like Tang Tu.

“Waaahhh, I don’t want Xia Chi to marry Teng Jingsi either!”

She sat upright, posture perfect, hiding every trace of emotion.

Tang Mingming, flustered by the crying, hastily said, “Sister Xia, I’m hanging up now.”

Mucai replied calmly, “Okay.”

She set down her brow pencil. The line disconnected. In the mirror, her features were striking—not the soft purity of a heroine, but the naturally seductive face of a villainess.

From outside, her adoptive mother called, “Cai Cai! Come out and meet the guests. Maybe there’s a nice boy you’ll like. If you do, tell Mommy.”

Mucai frowned. “Mom, this is Xia Chi’s engagement party. Let’s just focus on making it perfect.”

What annoyed her most lately were men. One male lead was already a headache today she might have to deal with another one.

But the woman wouldn’t give up. She changed her tone, “You’re right, sweetheart. You’re still young. There’ll be plenty of chances to meet someone. But come out and get some fresh air, okay? Mommy’s worried about you.”

As if she believed that. Mucai thought:

“Yeah right, like she’s actually worried. More like worried I’ll miss some matchmaking opportunity.”

She sighed. Better to go out and face whatever scheme her “mom” was planning than to sit here hiding like a turtle.

After a brief pause, she gave in. “Fine. I’m coming.”

Her voice gave nothing away sounding like someone merely annoyed enough to emerge from hiding, not the sharp, observant person she actually was.

As soon as she stepped out, her adoptive mother tried to introduce someone.

“Cai Cai, the youngest son of the Gao family just got found and brought home a few days ago. He’s handsome and charming. Want to meet him?”

Mucai’s mind spun.

Gao family… Wait Male Lead #2 is Gao Jinghuan!

Of course! This scheming woman wants to pair me with him. But he’s hopelessly devoted to the heroine!

Indeed, her adoptive mother’s eyes sparkled with hope, eagerly waiting for her response.

Mucai felt a chill up her spine, quickly diverting the conversation. “Mom, this is Xia Chi’s engagement day. Can you focus, please?”

But in her mother’s eyes, her response looked like a girl too shy to admit her feelings.

With a knowing smile, she said, “Alright, alright. I’ll go handle things downstairs. You go fetch your sister.”

If Mucai had known what was going on in her adoptive mother’s head, she might have bashed her own head into a wall to prove her innocence.

“She seriously thinks I like Male Lead #2? Please! Just thinking about what he does to the original villainess makes my skin crawl.”

In the original story, after the villainess lost everything, Gao Jinghuan had her dragged into an alley during a snowstorm and assaulted until she died blaming her for the heroine’s death.

“Seriously, pairing me with him? No thanks! I’d rather pair up with the heroine instead!”

Mucai muttered to herself as she walked away.

Her annoyed footsteps echoed along the second-floor hallway. She was like a sulking child, kicking at ribbons littering the floor.

She reached Xia Chi’s guest room and knocked.

“Xia Chi, Mom says we should go down.”

A soft, elegant voice responded from inside. “Alright. I’m coming.”

Mucai raised her head, imagining what Xia Chi would look like in the dress she had helped pick. The thought made her heart flutter.

Just then click the door opened.

Out stepped a black swan.

Xia Chi.

A slender swanlike neck, and a figure that perfectly carried the deep-V, open back black gown. Standing at 170cm, she was pure elegance.

Unlike a typical heroine in white, today she wore black just like Mucai. But while Mucai’s look was soft, like a sweet black rice dumpling, Xia Chi was a cold, untouchable goddess.

For a moment, Mucai wondered if she had knocked on the wrong door.

Her eyes widened.

“What the hell? The soft little white flower heroine is radiating boss energy in a black dress?”

It was still her, but Mucai couldn’t stand to look because her heart wouldn’t stop pounding.

Her ears turned red. She lowered her head.

Then Xia Chi spoke, calm as ever, “Let’s go, little sister. Didn’t you say we should head down?”

The sound snapped her out of it. But when she looked up again, her heart pounded even louder.

It was all her fault. She was the one who had insisted Xia Chi wear black when they went to pick dresses even when her adoptive mother had tried to push a white, bridal-looking gown.

She had said, “Black looks better on Xia Chi.”

“I played myself. Xia Chi is stunning. Cool, powerful… everything that pushes my buttons.”

Xia Chi glanced at her, noticing her flushed ears and lowered gaze. She assumed Mucai didn’t like her outfit.

But actually… she liked her.

And that was all that mattered.

“Um, Xia Chi,” Mucai mumbled, “The orphanage called earlier. They asked me to wish you a happy engagement…”

She didn’t need to see Xia Chi’s expression to know it must’ve darkened. Xia Chi didn’t even like Teng Jingsi. Saying this made Mucai feel like some side character stirring up drama.

“I’m awful! This is what a villainess would say!”

She tried to console herself:

“It’s fine, this is my role. I’m the evil supporting character. A little shade is expected.”

But deep inside, guilt ate at her.

Unbeknownst to her, Xia Chi’s expression remained calm. She wasn’t angry why would she be? Mucai had only passed on the message.

“Such a kind heroine!” Mucai would’ve thought, had she known.

“Come on,” she changed the topic quickly.

At the spiral staircase, a red carpet stretched all the way down. Had no one said it was an engagement party, people might’ve mistaken it for a celebrity red carpet event.

Guests chatted in hushed voices:

“The real daughter raised in the countryside can’t compare to the fake one who received elite education.”

“I heard her fiancé used to be the fake daughter’s. What kind of sister steals her own sister’s man?”

“They say she’s ugly too.”

Teng Jingsi stood nearby, face stiff. Everyone was talking about his fiancée like she was trash and he did nothing.

Not even a, “My fiancee isn’t ugly.”

He was too ashamed to admit he was the one marrying the “uneducated, ugly” real daughter of the Xia family.

A man puffing a cigar commented, “Don’t judge too soon. Maybe the real daughter’s much better than the fake one. Good genes don’t lie.”

Another chimed in, “Exactly. No matter how educated, a fake daughter born of a peasant can’t beat real Xia blood.”

Everyone had their own opinions. But in the end, both daughters were hurt by the whispers.

Mucai stood at the top of the stairs, black lines creeping across her forehead.

“I’ve read so many fake vs. real daughter novels. If the real daughter is the heroine, the fake one has genetic issues. If the fake one is the heroine, the real one is shallow and cruel.”

“Can’t both girls just be good? Xia Chi and I aren’t bad people.”

She glanced at Xia Chi beside her, who showed no sign of emotion. As if the gossip wasn’t even about her.

“Foolish heroine… If you were the unhinged type, you’d be slapping people by now. My poor baby…”

Xia Chi caught her thoughts and wanted to say:

“As long as you don’t think poorly of me, the others don’t matter.”

Trying to punch Xia Chi emotionally was like punching cotton.

Mucai turned to her and, in a mock stern tone, barked, “I’ll go first. You follow behind. Got it?”

“Got it,” Xia Chi replied, utterly unbothered.

“I’m only pretending to scold you. Don’t be mad. I’m just playing my villain role…”

But Xia Chi understood completely.

In fact, this kind of heart-mouth mismatch only made Summer Mucai more endearing.